_{Image by Sander van der Borch.}

 

Whilst much of the focus for international match racing fans has been centred on Nice over the last couple of weeks, anticipation is now building for the final event of the World Match Race Tour, the iconic Monsoon Cup  which takes place next month in Malaysia. For the reigning WMRT champion, Britian's Ian Williams, this event will represent perhaps his biggest ever challenge in the march race arena. Williams currently lies third in the overall Tour standings but nevertheless is planning an audacious attempt to secure a record breaking third WMRT victory by winning the 1.5 times points weighted 2009 Monsoon Cup.

 

Despite an uncharacteristically inconsistent season so far, Williams is hoping that he and his Team Pindar crew can use the prestigious Monsoon Cup to raise their game and finish the season on a high. While few would doubt the potential for them to emerge as 2009 Monsoon Cup winners, to pull off an overall Tour victory will require second placed Torvar Mirsky and leader Adam Minoprio to have bad regattas; something they have both managed to avoid so far this year.

 

The action at this mouthwatering regatta starts on the 2nd of December and we will be trying to bring you some exclusive daily updates from the key skippers involved here on Offshore Rules.